The great comeback ?
Leading major live event operators provide their perspectives on one of the busiest and most demanding summer events seasons anyone can remember , and how next year a careful balance will have to be struck between meeting costs and increasing ticking prices
Words : Christopher Barrett
In February , Association of Independent Festivals ( AIF ) CEO Paul Reed warned the festival season would see operators experience a ‘ perfect storm ’ created by the supply chain crisis , workforce shortages and the impact of Brexit , but while there have been casualties , other event operators have experienced record years .
In Scotland , Live Nation-owned DF Concerts sold more than 1 million tickets across 33 outdoor summer shows to generate around £ 72m for the country ’ s economy .
AEG Presents had a record year with an attendance of around 350,000 across six All Points East shows , while
a 50 % increase in the number of its BST Hyde Park dates led to 530,000 tickets being sold .
During Glastonbury festival weekend in June more than 1 million people attended major music shows across the UK , and over the August bank holiday weekend it was 3 million .
Meanwhile , the success of huge sporting events including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games , the UEFA Women ’ s EURO 2022 and The 150th Open at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews played a major role in helping the UK avoid recession .
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton , executive director championships at The R & A , who oversaw The 150th Open , says the event contributed around £ 200m to the UK economy . Understandably , he is proud of what was achieved .
“ We handled a record crowd of 292,000 , which was way beyond the previous record of 239,000 – we ’ re talking about having three times the population of St Andrews descending on a daily basis and having to look after them on a 450-acre site . So , it was clearly the largest infrastructure we ’ ve ever put together , and the most
“ There ’ s no question the appetite for events is there but there are significant challenges in the economics .” –
R & A executive director Johnnie Cole-Hamilton commercially successful event yet .” Many independent festivals also fared well , with the likes of Green Man , Boomtown , End of the Road and Glastonbury selling out .
AEG Presents CEO of European festivals Jim King says the company went from staging 12 festival show days in 2019 to 23 this year , as well as stadium dates . He says he was hugely impressed by the hard work achieved by a team that had seen its workflow cut off entirely during the pandemic .
DF Concerts promoted six summer shows at Hampden Park ( cap . 58,000 )
“ There was obviously the impact of the pandemic on the supply chain to deal with but also the challenges around our team returning full time after such a long break , and having to deal with a quantity of work that had increased substantially from pre pandemic ,” says King . “ It was a huge increase in shows , and obviously the calibre of artists we were working with meant the production requirements were at a very high level .”
Reed has found that despite the many challenges impacting independent festivals , a large number of AIF members had a very positive year : “ I have heard from quite a few of them who had record attendances , record F & B , record sponsorship , and some very happy audiences out there .
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